BlackBerry and Apple: When fruits communicate
HandheldsBlackberries and apples mix in tasty homemade crumbles, but in the world of technology they've not always been a happy combination. Previously the BlackBerry only officially played patty-cake with Windows PCs, but now BlackBerry-maker RIM endorses PocketMac, the iSync-compatible OS X software. We've got our hands on Pocket Mac's latest Mac OS X software -- which installed without a hitch on Tiger -- and had a snoop around the features available to Mac users.
Judging from the BlackBerry preferences panel that the software installed, all of the features available to PC users are now in the hands of Mac users too. You can sync the BlackBerry with Entourage (Microsoft's OS X version of Outlook), although we did need to upgrade our copy of Entourage to 10.1.4 via Microsoft's website. Currently our BlackBerry phone is slowly charging via the Mac's USB port -- it's as lethargic as a methadone pensioner -- so we can't tell how well the syncing software works yet. Continue reading...
The multi-tasking handheld
Games and GearWe've finally put down Wipeout Pure long enough to be able to find out all the cool new stuff happening on the Sony PSP scene. As the official Gadget of the Year™, you can bet there are loads of people out there dedicated to making the PSP do new and exciting things. We've got news of the PSP's first 'adult' entertainment, some clever hackers who've got SNES games running on the console, plus a virtually indestructible case from Logitech.
GamePro reports that Japanese companies h.m.p. and GLAY'z have created the first adult movies on the handheld's UMD format. Designed to capitalise on that untapped market of weirdos who like to watch pornography in full glare of the general public, titles such as Kaneshiro Anna: The High Class Soap Mistress will be available in July, at around £10-£20. UMD region coding restricts playback on US or European consoles, but someone in the UK is bound to follow suit, so expect some 'Ban this Sick (Public) Filth' headlines in the Daily Mail soon. Just bear in mind that in the US, there have been lawsuits against people watching such films in their cars -- although if you've got the nerve to do it in the first place you deserve everything you get.
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Craved by the Metropolitan police
HandheldsIt seems Crave is the zeitgeist. The Guardian reports that police refer to mobile phones and iPods as CRAVED -- concealable, removable, available, valuable, enjoyable or disposable items. Crave's lawyers are on the case.
The Metropolitan police commissioner is blaming iPods and hi-tech phones for April's 26.4% rise in robberies on the streets of London. Which is odd, because we can't remember the last time we were mugged by an iPod.
TomTom Mobile 5: a walk on the mild side
Mobile PhonesCrave spent the weekend wandering the streets in the company of TomTom Mobile 5, a sat-nav solution that runs on your mobile phone (in our case, Nokia's widescreen smart phone, the 7710).
The TomTom Mobile package comprises a wireless GPS receiver, a MultiMediaCard containing the software and maps, and a charger that plugs into your car's cigarette lighter (drivers are a bigger market than walkers). The GPS receiver is about the size of a credit card (88 by 43 by 15mm), weighs 68g, connects to your phone via Bluetooth and has a magnetic bottom plate that's completely useless for sticking it to your shoulder (and we doubt it works much better on a plastic dashboard). Nevertheless, there's something very sci-fi about receiving signals from space on a device that gets lost in your pocket.
Nokia 770: take a maemo, Miss Jones
HandheldsNot content with the weird widescreen 7710 and the strange spinner-driven 7280, Nokia has announced the 770, a device that outdoes all its off-the-wall predecessors by not even being a phone. It's an Internet appliance -- a tablet-style device that lets you connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi or a Bluetooth connection to a mobile phone.
The 770 measures 141 by 79 by 19mm, so it'll go in your pocket -- as long as you're wearing baggy skateboarding jeans. Be advised, though, that the 770's weight -- some 230g -- is likely to drag those jeans down to your ankles. However, we don't expect you to take it out and about. The 770 is more likely to find a place on your coffee table, for quick Internet look-ups and accessing email.
palmOne LifeDrive: the monster truck of handhelds
HandheldsTwo months ago we were wishing for a PDA with a hard drive, but cynically dismissing the LifeDrive rumours. Now our dreams have come true… well, okay, the ones about genetic experiments involving handhelds and hard drives.
palmOne is positioning the LifeDrive as a Mobile Manager, whatever that might mean. In the real world, it's a handheld on steroids. Instead of a piddling 8MB, 32MB or even 128MB of RAM, it contains a 4GB Microdrive, enabling you to store loads of everything: 10,000 contacts, 10,000 appointments, 6,000 emails, 1,200 documents, 1,000 photographs, 300 songs and 2.5 hours of video, all at the same time. Continue reading...
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Archos AV400: well weapon
HandheldsThe Archos AV400 has been pronounced the world's best portable PVR, but we sceptical types at Crave don't take such claims lightly. Not only have we got hold of one to give it the thrashing of its little life, we've got the new upgraded 80GB model. Apple iPod 60GB? Ha! The Archos laughs at such puny storage.
First impressions of the AV400 are good -- it has a nice weight that will certainly hurt an opponent should we need to use it as a weapon, but with soft rubbery corners to help protect it when we inevitably drop the thing. We've built up a library of DivX files from all the portable players we've had in, and when we loaded them on the Archos there were some definite problems. The first episode of 24 looked amazingly crisp, but it was dropping frames and looked incredibly jerky. As a result, Kim Bauer's constant running wasn't nearly as satisfying to watch.
Hot little pocket rocket: mPack P800
HandheldsDoes Archos think it's the leader of the portable media player pack? It'd better watch out. This mPack P800 has a blade in its pocket and it's not afraid to fight dirty. It might have a slightly less intuitive interface than the Archos, but the picture quality on the P800 blows us away.
It's difficult for an 89mm (3.5-inch) LCD to inspire awe -- let's face it, on a cinema screen, an actor's pore could fill that space -- but the P800 has the sweetest looking screen of any portable player we've seen yet.
Welcome to our new Web site
CamcordersWelcome to the new Crave. We thought Crave's crack team of highly-trained gadget monkeys were having far too much fun to be left on their own, so we've decided to join them and Crave is now part of CNET.co.uk, a brand new Web site which launches today.
Crave will continue to keep you up to date on the latest gadget gossip, but will now also be able to give you access to in-depth product reviews on many of the things the Crave team have been lusting after, as well as to personal technology and consumer electronics News and Digital Living features to help you make sense of the technology you already own.
Nintendo: is that a Game Boy in your pocket?
Games and GearNintendo's strategy in the face of the imminent PSP launch? Why, release an even smaller version of the Game Boy...
We thought the company had all but ditched the Game Boy brand with the launch of the DS, but it seems you just can't keep a 16-year-old cash cow down. While it's not sending the Crave game monkeys into a frenzy, we guess it makes sense to have a handheld console that's actually portable for once -- you'd certainly have to be wearing a baggy pair of Levi's to fit the DS or PSP in your pocket comfortably. The GB Micro will probably even fit in that little change pocket you always get on your jeans -- you know, the one you never use? In fact, it's not much bigger than an original GBA cartridge.
Handhelds with big screens
HandheldsI need a reliable PDA with a large screen and Wi-Fi. I also want to be able to use it with an accessory keyboard. Do you have any suggestions? Continue reading...
Toshiba SD-P2700: DVD-a-go-go
Home Cinema“Sweet heavens, is that really a portable DVD player?” we hear you cry. Crave had also been labouring under the impression that the entire world had moved onto hard drive-based video devices, but Toshiba’s SD-P2700 has proved us entirely wrong.
Not only does it have a 23cm SVGA screen, but it can play DivX files, meaning you can watch all those, ahem, ‘backups’ on the go. Not only that, but your photos of that perfect summer in Spain can be revisited whenever you like thanks to an integrated 3-in-1 memory card reader (SD, MMC, Memory Stick). With two headphone sockets, you can share DVD love with the beautiful stranger beside you on the train home to Bracknell.
Sony PSP to land in September
Games and GearSony has finally announced when the PlayStation Portable console will go on sale: 1 Sept 2005, for £180.
The console has already been on sale in Japan for around four months and in the US for one month, proving yet again that in the videogame world, Europe is the poor relation that always seems to come last.
Sony PSP: time to bin the iPod?
Games and GearAfter enjoying the Sony PlayStation Portable for the last few months, we really don't know how we lived without it. Believe the hype, the long-awaited iPod 2.0 is here -- a device that astounds anyone who sets eyes on it.
Sony’s PSP really does have it all: a gloriously detailed LCD screen manufactured by Sharp, launch games that not only look the part but are genuinely engaging to play thanks to the excellent analogue control stick, and a case design that should keep Apple’s Jonathan Ives on his toes.
Goodmans X-Pro GPDR40: Budget media player
HandheldsPortable media centres are expensive little weapons. But this Oompah- Loompah from Goodmans is almost an impulse buy. Around £260 gets you a respectable looking media player that'll record video from any source you care to thrust its SCART lead into.
The software on the Goodmans X-Pro is disgusting. We used the box it came in as a sick bag while navigating through the cutesy icons. Perhaps some will like it – but if you do we're worried about you.
Practise joined-up writing with the DigiMemo
HandheldsThere are two types of people in the world: people who have nice handwriting and people who use computers. If you use a computer, you do everything with a keyboard, so you have terrible, illegible handwriting. If you have beautiful handwriting, it's because you practise regularly -- probably because you hate computers.
With that in mind, it's hard to find a home for the DigiMemo, an electronic clipboard from Selwyn Electronics. You place a piece of paper on it, just as you would with a regular clipboard, then write on the paper with a digital inking pen, leaving a trail of ink on the paper and creating a digital image on the device. End result: one piece of paper with neatly written notes, and one image file that can be uploaded to your PC.
Have gadgets, will travel
Digital CamerasIt's not enough to travel hopefully, light of heart, unburdened by possessions. Today's backpackers stagger round the globe with rucksacks full of gadgets... and then photograph them.
Instead of snapping a picture of the Taj Mahal, or even yourself in front of the Taj Mahal, you photograph your iPod, reducing India's most famous temple to a pleasant backdrop. We're not sure what this proves, other than a) you were able to find electricity throughout your travels and b) you never left your musical comfort zone, but hey. At least you aren't taking pictures of your desk.
palmOne handheld with a hard drive (maybe)
HandheldsSeek and ye shall find… speculation. Within days of our request for a multimedia PDA with a hard drive, Engadget posted a rumour about a new palmOne handheld with 4GB of internal memory, probably in the form of "some sort of microdrive". It's a soft rumour and not especially credible, but it's gratifying to know that someone thinks palmOne might help us out.
Reactions ranged from cynical to enthusiastic, with some readers straddling the divide. While they didn’t believe the device would appear, they'd certainly buy one. We would too, because it would be a perfect platform for the photographs, music files and videos currently overflowing from our apparently obsolete Clié handheld. -ML
Would you like a hard drive with that?
AccessoriesThe humble hard drive used to be the least interesting part of your computer, only getting attention when it was (a) full or (b) broken. Then it curled up inside the iPod and got sex appeal by association. Now hard drives are everywhere. For example:
• Samsung has announced the SGH-i300, a mobile phone with a 3Gb hard drive for storing music and photographs.
Sony Clié handheld: RIP
HandheldsNews that Sony has finally killed its Clié handhelds, even in Japan -- where you can probably buy PDAs from vending machines -- has left us crying into our drawer of discontinued hardware. The Clié will be joining the Psion Series 5 in the graveyard of gadgets that we've loved and left behind. The tragic thing about these devices is that they can still do their job well, but that's not enough. No PDA is an island. Once the accessories dry up and the software support evaporates, it's hard to keep your data flowing. A PDA that's out of synch with its surroundings is about as useful as a paddling pool in the desert. Just add water? We would if we could.
We're particularly sad about the Clié because it suited us so well until now. The TJ-37 combines the user-friendliness of the Palm operating system with the good looks and multimedia support more typical of Pocket PCs. With its high-res colour screen, built-in camera, MP3 and movie playback, Wi-Fi and Memory Stick slot, it has almost everything (although Bluetooth would be nice). It's small, light, stylish… and doomed to obsolescence. It'll labour on for another year or so, but it'll never get upgraded, which is a sad end for such a beloved gadget. -ML
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